Crave for Acceptance
by Arianna Waters
Summary: Cho's biggest woe is that she's tired of not being accepted. Will she find acceptance in her life? Or will Death be the only answer to her woes?


_**DISCLAIMER:**_ _Anything that you recognize and have read before belongs to our beloved JKR, and I do not intend to use it for my profit except for scores in QLFC._

* * *

 _ **Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Round 11 (I Open at the Close), as Beater 2 of Falmouth Falcons.**_

 _PROMPT:_ _"I'm tired of not being accepted."_

 _Optional Prompts:_

 _# (quote) 'Dream a little harder'_

 _# (word) shatter_

 _# (word) bounce_

 _WORD COUNT: 1855_

 _A huge thanks to Tigger and Arty for looking through it!_

* * *

 **Crave for Acceptance**

 **—** **oOo—**

" _I'm tired of not being accepted by my mother!"_

"Accepted to Hogwarts!" Squealing in delight, Cho launched herself in her father's lap, her arms circling his neck in a tight hug. "I'm going to Hogwarts, Daddy!"

Her smile grew wider as her father grinned at her. "We'll go to the Alley tomorrow, to buy your books and wand."

Cho nodded, her black hair bouncing on her shoulders. Looking down at the letter, she recited the booklist. Then, scrunching up her nose, she said, "it says 'The students may also bring an Owl, a Cat, or a Toad.' Can I get a cat, daddy?"

Before Lee Chang could reply, a sharp voice said, "Get off your father's lap this instant. You should know better than to sit on his hurt knee. And we'll see about the cat later."

Cho frowned while getting down to her own feet. 'Later' translated to 'never' as far as her mother was concerned. She looked up at her father, who was talking to her mother. "Macy, my leg is fine. It has been more than a decade, and it hardly hurts."

Harrumphing, she strutted away, leaving Lee with the now sobbing Cho.

"Why can't she be _happy_ for me? She always spoils it!"

"Now, Cho. Your mother is happy for you. It is just that she's thinking about all the expenses… that's what has got her worried. Now who's daddy's favourite girl?"

Cho smiled through her tears. Before she was born, her father had been an Auror—one of the best ones out there. He had got hurt badly during a Death Eater raid, thus effectively ending his career in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the age of twenty-six. Now, he could only sit behind the desk and do paperwork, and a clerk's job wasn't a highly paid one, even in the magical world.

Yet, to Cho, this man was her hero. He fought all the monsters to keep them a happy family. If only her mother could think that it wasn't her fault she wasn't a _boy_!

—oOo—

" _I'm tired of not being accepted at school!"_

"Bye, Daddy!" She wiped her tears as she let go of her father. Turning to her mother, she hugged the woman, surprised when she hugged back. "Bye, mum." For once, it seemed as if her mother was seeing her for a child and not a curse of a daughter.

Cho boarded the train, searching for an empty compartment, all the excitement of Hogwarts leaving her as she came to the facts. No one in her old Muggle school had been friends with her; how was Hogwarts going to be any different? All the girls used to taunt her for being a teacher's pet, and for being ugly. She knew she wasn't ugly—in fact, she was pretty, even beautiful—but that hadn't deterred the other girls from teasing her.

Finally finding an empty compartment, she sank into the seat, tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to go back into the safety of her father's arms. At least she could see him every evening while she was in the Muggle school; now it would be Christmas holidays until she would meet him. She got up, deciding to go back to her father. Before she could pull the trunk, however, the train lurched forward.

Sighing, she sat down. Perhaps it was for her own good—what would her mother have said?

An hour later, when the door opened, she was still in the same stance: tear-streaked cheeks, hugging her knees to her chest. When a burly voice spoke, she almost fell off the seat.

"An ickle firstie crying for mummy?" Cho looked up; a large boy in Slytherin uniform was glaring at her. Before she could say something, another boy said, "C'mon Flint, I found a Mudblood!"

The boy left and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was still shaking from fear, curling up on the seat in a tight ball. The door opened again, and a shiver ran down her spine.

"Can I sit here?" someone asked in a small voice. It was a girl her age.

Cho nodded, happy that someone wanted to sit with her.

"Marietta Edgecomb," the girl said after a few minutes, sticking a hand out in a snobbish way. "My mum works for the Minister."

Cho knew she didn't like the girl, knew she didn't want to be friends with her… but at least she was speaking to her, wasn't she? Guess she'll have to do with whatever friend she got.

"Cho Chang," she said, shaking the other girl's hand.

"Ooh, your father wouldn't be Lee Chang, would he?" The way Marietta had asked, Cho knew it wouldn't do her any good, but she nodded.

"He works for my mother," the girl sniffed.

"He used to be an Auror," Cho defended, not liking in the slightest the way this girl was speaking about her Dad. Before the other girl could reply, the candy trolley arrived.

—oOo—

" _I'm tired of not being accepted as a girl!"_

She was sobbing in her father's arms, repeating again and again, "I loved him!"

Her father was rubbing her back, whispering words in her ear which she couldn't understand. At least her mother wasn't here to make the day even worse.

Cho untangled herself from her father's arms. "How could he just leave me?"

"I know," his father whispered. "I understand."

"No, you don't!" she snapped. Then: "I'm sorry."

Lee stood up, cursing his body for not allowing him to pick his daughter. He sat down on the floor, pulling his daughter on his lap. "Let me tell you a story, Cho.

"You know your mother hates my parents, yes?"

Cho nodded. "I understand that, though. It isn't as if I like them either. They treat us so badly."

Her father sighed. "But your mother's hatred is extreme. I have a million reasons to kill your mother, Cho. The only good thing she has given me is you."

She looked up at her father. "What happened?"

"Your mother blames you that we don't have any son or other kids, doesn't she?" He laughed. "She is the reason. When you were a year old, and I had just gotten back on my feet, your grandparents visited. Your mother was two months pregnant at that time. Now, whatever they have done, they are my _parents_ , and what kind of son would I be, not to treat them nicely? When I had gone to drop them off at the International Travelling Office, your mother had the child—a boy—aborted."

Cho gasped. Surely, her mother wouldn't have done that! But a woman who could beat her only daughter with slaps, kicks, boots, and canes could do anything.

"Then, when you were three, your mother was pregnant again—with another boy. I had gone to see your grandparents, and she totally indulged herself in physical work. The baby died prematurely."

Tears were running down both father's and daughter's eyes, as Lee continued. "The third time, you were four-and-a-half. I was at work when she told me it was a girl. I was so happy to finally have another kid. She said she didn't want another _daughter_. I told her she was wrong… yet she didn't listen to me. When I came back home, she and her mother were at a Muggle clinic, getting the child aborted. I had no choice but to go with it! I killed that girl, Cho, I killed that girl."

Cho's heart clenched as her father broke down. She didn't want to listen, but she knew her dad had it all bottled up, and he needed closure. She motioned for him to continue.

"I… I was the one who destroyed the baby's body! I'm a monster!"

"No, Daddy, you aren't. I hate mum!"

Her father didn't notice her speak; he was lost in the past. "After that, no child lived past three months of pregnancy. Your mother destroyed everything!"

"No wonder she blames me," Cho whispered, her world shattering before her. "If only I were a boy…"

"No, my child. I love you the way you are. I've gotten over the past, and you should, too. Dream a little harder, Cho; I know you'll grow up into a wonderful woman."

She wanted to say he wasn't over what had happened, but she just hugged him tightly instead. If he could put up with her mother after everything she had done, surely she would be able to get over Cedric's… death.

—oOo—

" _I'm tired of not being accepted by my kids!"_

Cho couldn't help but smile as she gazed at her youngest son from the door of the kitchen. He was a Squib, yet he was a happy child. With his breakfast in her slightly shaking hands, she went to the dining table.

"Here, Lee, your breakfast." Before she could set the bowl on the table, it tilted in her frail hands, the milk spilling on Lee's pants.

"Mother!" he snapped. "Omar will be coming in a minute, and you've spoiled my only clean pants!"

"I'll get it cleaned in a second."

Before she could reach for her wand, her son growled, "Don't you dare go for that stick of yours!"

She opened her mouth, but he continued, "I don't know why you couldn't give magic to me like Maya and Kai! You must be proud of the witch and wizard children of yours, are you not? Besides, anyone who has a moderate IQ level can tell that we three aren't related. Tell me, how many men have you slept with, you whore? None of us has got same eye or hair colour as you!"

As quietly as she could speak, she whispered, "You're all adopted."

"You mean to say all my life has been a lie? I HATE YOU!" He picked up his bookbag and stormed out of the house, and Cho fell to her knees, sobbing.

Later that day, Cho called her oldest two adopted kids. She was sitting in her bed when they arrived.

"How are you, mother?" Kai asked. "You don't look too good."

"Maya, Kai, I need to tell you something. I've been suffering from Dragon fever for over one year; I don't have much time left. I can't ask you to take care of Lee; could you just make sure he gets a good home?"

Her children had tears in their eyes. "We'll look after Lee, mum," Maya said. "The day you took us in was the best day of our lives."

Kai nodded. "You've been the best mother to us. We can do nothing for you, mother, but we'll take Lee in. Goodbye, mother."

—oOo—

A month had passed to the day she had said goodbye to her kids. Cho lay in her cot, thinking of the good memories in her life, as blackness surrounded her. When she awoke next, it was her father and Cedric who were waiting for her, smiles on their faces and arms wide open in welcome, and she walked towards them with a bounce in her step.

In death, she finally felt forever accepted.

—oOo—


End file.
